Color Changing Smart Lid Warns You When The Coffee Is Too Hot

February 4, 2014

Do you ever find yourself burning your tongue from foolishly drinking coffee that's just way too hot? Do you find yourself doing this multiple times a week? Do you remember the experiments where the rats were so dumb, they kept going after the cheese even though they will be electrocuted every time? Yeah, something to think about. At any rate, the Smart Lid is exactly for you.

At first glance, it looks just like a plastic lid for on-the-go coffee cups -- same as they have from any overpriced coffee store in your neighborhood. Except this one hides a secret superpower that allows it to warn you when the coffee just might be a tad too hot for human consumption (well, humans without superpowers anyway).

The Smart Lid is a coffee cup cover that turns bright red any time the drink under it is above 118 degrees F, then turns to a darker brownish hue once it cools down below the threshold. That way, you don't have to guesstimate (or worse, try out) whether the coffee's too hot for your mouth to go unscathed -- there's a bright and clear visual cue to warn you of the imminent danger. Construction is plastic with a thermochromic plastic additive that's responsible for the color-changing ability. Do note, this is disposable, which kind of ruins the fun a bit (yeah, it's not fun having to buy the same things over and over).

Currently, the Smart Lid is running as an Indiegogo campaign. It's offered in sets paired with matching paper cups, with pledges starting at $22 for 20 pieces.

One Response

I love products that come from crowd funding websites, they are typically very well thought out. This one is nice, but I wonder how many people we realize the color before they dive into their morning coffee?